Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/828624
2 maltatoday, FRIDAY, 26 MAY 2017 News Russians refute allegations of meddling in Maltese election MATTHEW VELLA THE Russian embassy in Malta yesterday rejected al- legations published in spe- cialist publication Intelligen- ceOnline.com on concerns of Russian interference in the Maltese elections by the security services from Brit- ain and the USA. The embassy said it "cat- egorically refutes" the alle- gations as being "absolutely unfounded and untrue" and that Russia had never inter- fered into Malta's domestic affairs. "All questions regarding these allegations should be addressed to the so-called security services of allied countries that spread this fake information," the em- bassy said. Prime Minister Joseph Muscat on Wednesday re- acted to the news carried in IntelligenceOnline.com, saying that he was aware of information from foreign in- telligence services, of alleged Russian meddling in Malta's election. But Muscat said he could not state, as claimed in the report, whether the whistle- blower in the Egrant allega- tions, a Russian national, was connected to these claims. "All I know is that we were told to expect retribution for our role in hastening the visa waiver programme for Ukraine and after we stopped the refuelling of a Russian warship on the way to Syria," Muscat said. "This information came to us from foreign agencies, not from the Malta Security Services." According to the Intelli- genceOnline.com, a French publication founded in 1980 by Indigo Publications that covers the intelligence sec- tor, British and American intelligence agencies, "with MI6 and CIA at the fore- front" were concerned about possible Russian interference in the Maltese election pro- cess. "The allegations were made by a Russian accountant, Maria E., who long worked in Cyprus and is now in Malta, where she previously served with Pilatus Bank," the re- port said referring to the Egrant allegations. There was no clear con- nection stated between the Egrant allegations and Russian inf luence, but the publication namedropped Alex Zaslavsky, saying the whistleblower works for a St Julian's eMoney payment firm, that belongs to Za- slavsky. MaltaToday could not con- firm whether Zaslavsky, list- ed as an American citizen with a California domicile according to the Maltese company registry, shares the same address with the whistleblower as claimed in IntelligenceOnline.com. According to Intelligen- ceOnline.com, "some of- ficials perceive it as a move to destabilise Malta's pro- Western prime minister that comes from on high in the Kremlin, especially be- cause it has occurred at a time when Muscat has been openly opposed to Moscow," it said referring to Malta's refusal to allow Russian vessels like the RFS Dubra sailing to Syria to stop over and refuel on the island. That stirred Moscow's fury as it deemed such refuelling vital. The Russian foreign ministry had condemned Malta's decision saying in a statement that the island had "fallen victim to an in- formation war led by the West". M'hemmx x'tagħżel bejniethom. Ivvota AD. Malta's refusal to allow refuelling to the RFS Dubra before joining the Admiral Kuznetsov (pictured) was cited as a reason for possible Russian retaliation